Hunger Games High School
by Kody Powers
Summary: Set about three months before the 74th Hunger Games, all of the future tributes go to the same school, and they experience high school.
1. Chapter 1

Hunger Games High School

"Katniss Everdeen," calls Mrs. Duff from the front of the room.

I lift my head up from my daydream, and I say, "Here."

Gale sits next to me, and he smiles. He has always been my best friend. I can tell him anything. In addition, he is the only person who is actually nice to me in this school, other than Aqua Dorfman.

Gale and I write notes to each other on a piece of paper, passing it back and forth between our desks.

Gale writes, "Hunting tonight?"

I reply, "For sure."

Glimmer, the meanest girl in school looks over at Gale and me. The thing is, Glimmer always had a thing for Gale. In kindergarten, they started going out, but Glimmer broke up with him because she had another man on her mind: Cato.

Cato is the most popular person at schoo, but I cannot see why girls like him. He is not the best looking, he has a pointy nose and gapped teeth, but I guess his piercing green eyes make up for it.

I know Glimmer likes Cato, but I know Clove does too. Clove is the second most popular person at my school, and Glimmer and she have been fighting for years for Cato's heart.

Glimmer pulls a piece of pink bubblegum from out of her mouth and raises her hand.

"Yes, Mrs. Willows" Mrs. Duff asks.

"Gale and Katniss are passing notes," Glimmer says.

Mrs. Duff gets up from her desk and wals over to Gale and me. It is illegal to hunt in Panem, so being caught passing notes about hunting will probably get us killed.

Like a flash, Gale pulls the paper off of my desk and replaces it with a page of history notes about the Hunger Games.

"We were just talking about the unit exam," Lies Gale, winking at me from the side.

"Glimmer, don't accuse," Mrs. Duff scolds.

Glimmer's mouth hangs open and she pops the gum back in her mouth. She shoots us a dirty look, and she looks back at the board.

In History class, we learn more about the Hunger Games. We learn that the Hunger Games was created, as punishment to us, because of what our ancestors did, which I do not think is fair. Apparantely there is another Hunger Games coming up in two months. Everyone is terrified, and so am I.

If my classmates and I were in the Hunger Games, Glimmer, Cato and Clove would be the careers, Gale and I would be the loners with only each other, and maybe Aqua Dorfman.

During the video about the Hunger Games, Aqua furiously wrote down notes, as if she was going to be in the Hunger Games someday. Her red hair would be easy to spot in the trees, because it is so bright, but I bet she is quick and smart and sly- like a fox.

When class ends, Gale and I walk into the hallway and head towards Gym class. Gym class is the only thing worse than being in the Hunger Games.

As always, we play dodgeball in Gym, and the teacher puts all the strong kids on one team. Which leaves me, Gale, Aqua, and a bunch of other kids with frail arms and bony bodies.

The teacher blows the whistle and the first one out of course, is Peeta Mellark. Peeta Mellark is the son of the baker in District 12, and he does not move real quick, so he is always out first. Once, when I was starving, Peeta actually gave me bread. He saved my life that day. But I still kind of think it is social suicide to hang out with him, since he is one of the most unpopular kids in the class.

Soon, most of my team is down. There are three of us left. Me, Gale and Aqua. Aqua dodges the hard balls no problem, sliding from side to side. I attempt to throw balls at the other team, which has all of its members. Gale stays in the back, and collects the balls that are thrown to the side.

The other team throws hard. They are so competitive. They think winning is everything. They have never been beaten in dodgeball, which makes me a little angry, because they are all so arrogant.

Gale bends down to pick up a lost ball, but then a ball flies through the air and slams him hard in the chest, pushing him to the back wall. It must have been Cato who threw the ball at him. Gale rubs his head and anger takes over me. I grab a ball, and throw it hard at Cato, knocking him down, and making him hit his head on the ground hard.

Clove takes the ball, and throws it forcefully at me, but Aqua steps in front of me and takes it to her stomach.

I realize I am the last one left. I lift up a ball, and I throw it hard at Glimmer. Glimmer falls down fast, and she falls on her butt. Clove looks at her, distracted, and I launch a ball at her, too. It hits her in the face, and she backs into the wall.

With their strongest members gone, the rest of their team forfits. I realize that I have just beaten the unbeatable team in dodgeball. I may be a hero to some people, but to others, I'm a threat.


	2. Chapter 2

I step out of the locker room, my hair still wet. I swing my backpack over my shoulder and I walk down the halls, trying to blend in with everyone else. I know that Glimmer, Cato, Clove, and the new guy Marvel are watching me right now.

I open my locker, stuff my books in, and I close it. Just then, a piece of crumpled paper with writing on it catches my attention. I open it, and inside I see: LOSER! printed on it. I know Glimmer wrote it, because under the exclamation is a heart, not a period.

I turn around and bump right into Gale.

"Easy there, Catnip," Gale says.

"Shh! I don't want the whole school to know your embarasing nickname for me," I say.

"Oh, you love it!" Gale teases.

"Okay, let's go for lunch," I say.

Gale and I walk into the cafeteria, and we head straight to the counter. The angry lunch lady, Jenette, scoops a piece of red meat on the plate- or at least I think it's meat. Jenette scoops up some spaghetti and throws it on my plate.

Gale and I wander through the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit. I notice Cato's table, and I hide behind Gale, hoping they won't see me. I am almost past them when I trip on something in front of me- Glimmer's leg.

I fall to the ground and my face lands in a pile of my spaghetti. I look up, but I can't see anything, because the red tomato sauce is covering my eyes. I can hear the cries of people laughing hysterically, and I can hear people taunting: "Spaghetti Face!"

"Let's go," Gale says.

I cover my face with my hands, and I follow Gale out of the cafeteria.

About ten minutes later, I stand by the bathroom sink and I wash the spaghetti out of my face and out of my hair. I knew I shouldn't have thrown that ball in gym class. I should have just let Cato throw the ball at me and knock me down. I made the biggest mistake of my life. I just keep wishing that this day never happened.

I finish up in the bathroom, and I am about to get out, when Glimmer walks in.

"What do you want?" I ask grumpily.

"Eww, why are you talking to me, freak?" Glimmer says.

"You should apologize," I say.

"For what? Tripping you? As if," Glimmer laughs.

She applies more makeup under her eye, and I try to get out of there.

She steps in my way, and blocks the door.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"You're not leaving until you apologize to me," Glimmer says.

"To you? You should apologize to me!" I yell.

"You humiliated me in front of the whole gym class!"

"You humiliated me in front of the whole cafeteria!"

"I hate you," Glimmer says.

"Same to you," I say.

I push her out of the way, and I get out of the bathroom. I run down the hall, tears in my eyes. Everybody is still on lunch break, including Gale. I decide to head to one place where it peaceful and quiet, and there is no drama.

I climb up the stairs that lead to the top of the school roof, and I open the door. The sweet smell of nature fills my nose, and I sigh. The roof is the only place I can escape when things are going bad. Sometimes, not even hunting with Gale solves my problems.

I sit on a wooden chair that has been up on the roof for years, and I look at all of the town. I think about things I regret, things I wish I can change, and things that might happen in the future.

"Rough day, huh?" asks a deep voice from behind me.

I turn around, and I realize it is is Peeta Mellark. He sits on the ground, his hands balled into fists.

"You have no idea," I say.

"Actually, I do," Peeta says, " I'm bullied by Cato's group all day, every day."

"This is the only place I can get away from all that," I say.

"Exactly."

"So, did you see?" I ask.

"See what?" He says.

"The spaghetti accident," I say.

"Yes, but I didn't laugh," Peeta says.

"Why not?" I question him.

"Because I know how it feels. Clove did the same thing to me about two years ago. She tripped me, and my hot bowl of soup spilled all over me."

"That's terrible! Were you okay?" I say.

"Yeah, just some minor burns," He says.

"They've been torturing me since the first grade," I say.

"They've been torturing me since kindergarten," Peeta says.

"They used to call me CantKiss," I tell him.

"They used to call me fat and pinch the fat on my stomach," He tells me.

"When my dad died in the mine explosion, they made fun of it and they cracked jokes about hiw he didn't get out of the mines fast enough," I say.

"They're terrible."

"They're bullies," I add.

"No kidding," He says.

"This is kind of weird, but would you like to hang out her tomorrow at lunch again?" I ask.

"Sure," Peeta agrees.

Then, the bell rings. We say goodbye, and we head to class. I realize that I made a friend. Someone who I can talk to about stuff other than hunting. But, I wonder how Gale is going to take this news.


	3. Chapter 3

On the way home, I try to avoid Gale. Gale knows me. He knows when I am lying, when I am telling the truth, or when I am hiding something. I know that Gale will be jealous, because that is just the type of person he is. In Kindergarten, he got mad when I shared my crayons with the new boy.

Eventually, I get home without seeing Gale, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I flop down on my bed, with a whole bunch of things running through my mind. Usually, reading helps take my mind off things, but not today.

Tomorrow will be terrible, because we are going to a greenhouse for a fieldtrip, and Gale and I are partners. Maybe I will fake being sick tomorrow. It usually helps.

"Bad day?" Prim pokes her head around the corner.

"You couldn't imagine," I say.

"Actually, I can. I'm 12 years old now. I understand a lot of things," Prim says.

"How about jealousy?" I ask.

"Yes. I deal with it every day," Prim tells me.

"Give me an example," I say.

"Well, sometimes I want to play with someone else at recess, and Kasey gets mad," Prim says.

"Good example, but not what I am going through," I say.

"Compromise. If someone else wants to play with you at recess, just play with both people," She says.

"You know what? You're right!" I say.

"You're welcome."

Prim dances out of the room, and I call Gale. I tell him to meet me in the woods in ten minutes.

Ten minutes later, Gale and I are in the woods past the boundary line where you can't go any further. I pick up my bow and arrow, and I load it. I hear a ruffle in the bushes, and I'm pretty sure it is a rabbit. I step closer and closer to the movement, and I am ready to shoot when Gale pops out.

"Whoa, Catnip. Don't shoot me!" He says.

"I will if you call me that again," I grumble.

"I wouldn't be saying that to someone who got you this," He says.

Gale pulls a perfectly rounded red apple from his pocket. I grab it from him and bite right into the centre. My tastebuds taste the sweet juice, and crunchy inside, and my belly fills with happiness.

"Where did you get this?" I ask.

"There's an apple tree about a mile from here," He tells me.

"I feel bad. I didn't bring you anything," I say.

"You didn't need to. We can always get more food," He smiles.

I feel that this is a good time to tell him about Peeta, but I can't bring myself to reveal it to him. The words are about to roll off my tongue when I decide not to.

"Gale," I begin.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I did your laundry this morning, and I washed your cat," He interrupts.

"Thanks, Gale. Why do you do all these things for me?" I question.

"You're my best friend, Katniss. Have been since day one," He says.

"Would you be mad if I told you something kind of bad?" I ask.

"How bad?"

"Well," I look into his grey eyes, and I lose my nerve, "I cheated off you in math class today," I lie.

"That's okay. I cheat off you in science all the time. That's what best friends are for," Gale says.

"Thanks," I barely whisper.

"Speaking of friendship, I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner or something tomorrow night?" He asks.

"Sure!" I agree.

"How about seven O clock?" He says.

"Sounds awesome," I say.

"Well, I have to go. See ya, Catnip," He says.

I pull back my bow, loaded with an arrow, jokingly. "I'll give you one more chance, Hawthorne. If you call me that again, you're dead."

About an hour later, I sit on my bed doing homework. I hear the phone ring. I pick it up, and I hear a voice I recognize on the other line.

"Peeta?" I say.

"You got me," Peeta says.

"What's up?" I ask.

"I was wondering if you wanted to do something together tomorrow," He says.

"Sure! What do you want to do?"

"Do you want to go for dinner tomorrow night?" He asks.

"Sure! What time?" I say.

"Seven O clock?" Peeta says.

"Sure," I say.

I hang up, and I smile. Everything is good now, even if Gale doesn't know about me and Peeta. My smile suddenly disapears when I realize that tomorrow, I am going on a double date.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After getting over the initial shock of realizing I have two dates tomorrow, I quickly head to my closet and I search through everything to find something suitable to wear. I am not saying my family is poor, but the only beautiful dress I have is for the reaping for the 74th Hunger Games, which is in exactly one month. It is a pretty plain blue dress, and I am supposed to save it for the reaping, but this is an emergency.

I plan out how I am going to do things tomorrow night, and then I take a cold bath in the water bucket.

The next day, at school I don't pay attention. I think about Gale and Peeta. Maybe I should just call one of them and rescheduele. But that would make me feel bad. And believe me, I cannot deal with guilt.

It is Six forty seven. Gale should be here soon. Prim set up the dining room table with candles and even roasted the turkey I shot in the woods yesterday. She topped off the elegant dinner with asparagus and fresh tomatos picked from Farmer McGill's garden.

I hear a knock, and I open the door. For the first time in my life, I see Gale Hawthorne wearing a suit. An actual suit. Throughout my whole time of knowing him, the only thing he wore was a stained white T-shirt and blue overalls.

I greet him, and hang his silk jacket on the coat hook.

"Nice to see you, Katniss," He says, "You look beautiful."

"You look handsome," I say.

"It smells delicious in here," He says.

When he enters the dining room, his eyes widen with surprise and delight. He pulls out a chair for me, and I sit down. Gale walks over to the other chair and sits down.

"This is amazing," He smiles.

"Thank Prim, she cooked the turkey and boiled the asparagus," I say.

As we eat, the only thing I can think about is Peeta. He is probably sitting in the bakery right now waiting for me. The guilt overpowers me, and I stand up.

"I'll be right back," I say.

I exit my house silently, and I take off my high heels, leaving me barefoot. Then, I make a mad dash to Peeta's bakery.

I arrive there breathless. Peeta opens the door for me and I smile.

"You look beautiful," Peeta says.

"You look handsome," I reply.

"Please, sit down," He says.

The Bakery lights are off, and the smell of fresh, warm bread makes me drool a little bit. He directs me to a table, that has many different types of bread and pastries.

I sit down, and he does too. I grab for a roll and I stuff it in my mouth.

"I'm so sorry, I'm being so rude," I say with my mouth full.

"Don't worry, It's fine," He laughs.

"Thanks," I say.

There is an awkward silence as each of us takes a piece of bread and munches on it.

"So, Katniss, I need to talk to you about something," He says.

"What?" I ask.

"Well, Katniss, you're one of my best friends and I think that you and I should,"

I cut him off. "I have to go to the bathroom,"

I get up, wipe my face, and dust the bread crumbs off my dress. I run out of the bakery like there is a stampede of cows chasing me.

When I get back to my house, I immediately sit down by Gale.

"That took a while," He says.

"I had a stomach ache," I lie.

Over the next hour, I switch between Gale and Peeta, engaging in deep coversation with each of them, and then abruptly leaving. I can tell they are both starting to get annoyed, but in order to keep them both happy, I need to keep switching.

After my date with Peeta ends, he gives me a kiss on the cheek and then I leave.

At my house, I get ready to end the date with Gale.

"Katniss?" He asks.

"Yes?" I answer.

"We have been friends for a long time, and I think that we should take things to the next level," He says.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Katniss Everdeen, I love you," He says.

My heart stops. Gale Hawthorne likes me?

"I love you too," I say.

He leans across the table and kisses me on the lips. It lasts for about ten seconds.

"I have to go," He says. And with that, Gale Hawthorne disapears into the dark night.


End file.
